The Night the Mother Invaded the Dance Club
When Frank first got his driver's license in the spring of 1996, he did not have a car of his own, so he and I shared a car, just as all the other kids had to do at first. My car was a very nice little maroon VW Rabbit that we had just bought from a coworker of mine.
One Friday evening in June Frank had our permission to use my car to go to a teen dance club in Lancaster. Unfortunately we were experiencing the effects of tropical storm Bertha, and as the evening progressed the rain became more torrential. Around 9 PM we got a phone booth call from a boy named Frank who had been unable to see a curve in the street and had driven my car right up onto a grassy island that separated traffic lanes. He was afraid something was wrong because it wouldn't drive. We told him to just stay there and we'd come and take a look. He expressed concern that he was supposed to meet his girlfriend at the club, and she would think he stood her up, and he was thinking that if we were coming for the car anyway, he would call a taxi to take him to the club. I told him in no uncertain terms, "Stay there!!!" I had very little sympathy for him or his girlfriend at that point. Dick had just had a chemo treatment that day, and I had a lot more sympathy and concern for him.
When we arrived, about thirty minutes later, there was no Frank anywhere to be found. Dick could tell, even in the torrential rain and darkness, that the car was not drivable - something underneath had broken apart. He stayed in the Rabbit while I drove to a nearby Turkey Hill to call the dance club. (No cell phones to make things easier in 1996!) I was MAD!!! When I called the club and described my son, they said he had just arrived. They got him to the phone and I gave him a very large piece of my mind.
I then went back to the scene only to discover that a policeman had arrived. When we tried to explain what had happened, he wondered where the driver was. So I told him where the driver was. He said, "I can't even proceed in writing up an accident report unless the driver is here. You'll have to go get him." I could not believe it. By now I was completely drenched and looked like a drowned rat. I had NEVER been to a dance club in my entire life.
As I drove the many blocks to the dance club I just could not believe the predicament I was in. I imagined how I would go in and tell the people at the front desk that I was the mom who had called earlier, and they would go get Frank, and then we would leave without too many people seeing me.
Not so! When I arrived, the guy at the desk told me that all the bouncers were elsewhere, and he could not leave the front desk. I would need to go back to the dance floor and find him myself!!!! I begged and pleaded for them to find someone to do it for me, to no avail. As I walked through the little food area, kids were sitting in the booths on either side of me, and heads turned. Can you imagine their surprise at seeing a 40-something, angry, soaking wet woman invading their world? Next was the dance floor, and it was DARK, with flashing strobe lights. I was supposed to find him in there???? I stood looking and wondering what in the world to do. Then, in a mirrored column I saw a familiar looking white shirt and as the light hit his face, I could see it was Frank. A bouncer was standing nearby and I told him I had an emergency and needed to talk to my son. I showed him the white shirt in the mirror and asked if he would please go out there and get him. I could have kissed him as he agreed to do so. The look on Frank's face when he saw me standing there was worth it all. It was payback time!!!
They say all's well that ends well. Frank and his sweet little girlfriend came with me, the accident report was written up, the car was towed, and insurance ended up totaling the car and paying us four times what we had paid my coworker for the car! Frank learned that you never leave the scene of an accident when he got the fine for doing so. And I have had the satisfaction of remembering my grand entrance into that dance club and the look on his face, and I have been laughing about it upon every remembrance!
One Friday evening in June Frank had our permission to use my car to go to a teen dance club in Lancaster. Unfortunately we were experiencing the effects of tropical storm Bertha, and as the evening progressed the rain became more torrential. Around 9 PM we got a phone booth call from a boy named Frank who had been unable to see a curve in the street and had driven my car right up onto a grassy island that separated traffic lanes. He was afraid something was wrong because it wouldn't drive. We told him to just stay there and we'd come and take a look. He expressed concern that he was supposed to meet his girlfriend at the club, and she would think he stood her up, and he was thinking that if we were coming for the car anyway, he would call a taxi to take him to the club. I told him in no uncertain terms, "Stay there!!!" I had very little sympathy for him or his girlfriend at that point. Dick had just had a chemo treatment that day, and I had a lot more sympathy and concern for him.
When we arrived, about thirty minutes later, there was no Frank anywhere to be found. Dick could tell, even in the torrential rain and darkness, that the car was not drivable - something underneath had broken apart. He stayed in the Rabbit while I drove to a nearby Turkey Hill to call the dance club. (No cell phones to make things easier in 1996!) I was MAD!!! When I called the club and described my son, they said he had just arrived. They got him to the phone and I gave him a very large piece of my mind.
I then went back to the scene only to discover that a policeman had arrived. When we tried to explain what had happened, he wondered where the driver was. So I told him where the driver was. He said, "I can't even proceed in writing up an accident report unless the driver is here. You'll have to go get him." I could not believe it. By now I was completely drenched and looked like a drowned rat. I had NEVER been to a dance club in my entire life.
As I drove the many blocks to the dance club I just could not believe the predicament I was in. I imagined how I would go in and tell the people at the front desk that I was the mom who had called earlier, and they would go get Frank, and then we would leave without too many people seeing me.
Not so! When I arrived, the guy at the desk told me that all the bouncers were elsewhere, and he could not leave the front desk. I would need to go back to the dance floor and find him myself!!!! I begged and pleaded for them to find someone to do it for me, to no avail. As I walked through the little food area, kids were sitting in the booths on either side of me, and heads turned. Can you imagine their surprise at seeing a 40-something, angry, soaking wet woman invading their world? Next was the dance floor, and it was DARK, with flashing strobe lights. I was supposed to find him in there???? I stood looking and wondering what in the world to do. Then, in a mirrored column I saw a familiar looking white shirt and as the light hit his face, I could see it was Frank. A bouncer was standing nearby and I told him I had an emergency and needed to talk to my son. I showed him the white shirt in the mirror and asked if he would please go out there and get him. I could have kissed him as he agreed to do so. The look on Frank's face when he saw me standing there was worth it all. It was payback time!!!
They say all's well that ends well. Frank and his sweet little girlfriend came with me, the accident report was written up, the car was towed, and insurance ended up totaling the car and paying us four times what we had paid my coworker for the car! Frank learned that you never leave the scene of an accident when he got the fine for doing so. And I have had the satisfaction of remembering my grand entrance into that dance club and the look on his face, and I have been laughing about it upon every remembrance!
6 comments:
That's so funny...I'll bet he was about to DIE when he saw you there! Actually I drove up on one of those islands too, but luckily no damage was done to my car. My dad would have been all over me too! Great story...thanks for sharing.
Jean, that is priceless! You are so right about payback time! How dare he leave when you told him not to! Ahhh, girls have a way of taking priority over any sense our boys may have!
Love the story!
That's a great story!
Isn't it strange how in the telling of those stories that had us in fits of anger and distress, they get funnier each time they're told? Bet Frank has never forgotten THAT lesson.
That was a great story! Poor Frank,I bet he hates this blog. LOL!
Great story. You tell your stories so well. You paint a picture so it's easy to "see" it happening. What a lesson he learned! I hope.
Post a Comment